Mumbai: In a bid to tackle rising financial frauds, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked lenders and payment companies to use only the ‘1600xx’ phone numbering series to call customers for transactional purposes and '140xx' numbering series for promotional purposes.
Banks and other regulated entities (REs) have also been asked to monitor and clean their customer database.
"The proliferation of digital transactions, while offering convenience and efficiency, has also led to a surge in frauds, a pressing concern underscoring the need for concerted action," said RBI while issuing the circular titled 'Prevention of financial frauds perpetrated using voice calls and SMS – Regulatory prescriptions and Institutional Safeguards'.
The mobile number of a custo mer has emerged as a ubiquitous identifier, instrumental in account authentication and verification process, receiving sensitive payment communication, such as OTPs, transaction alerts, account updates, etc. The mobile number, however, can also be misused by scamsters in multiple ways for committing various types of online and other frauds,” said the RBI.�
The RBI asked the lenders to utilise the Mobile Number Revocation List� (MNRL) available on the Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP) developed by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Ministry of Communications to monitor and clean their customer database.�
To enhance fraud risk monitoring and prevention, banks have been asked� to develop Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) incorporating the required action to be taken.
The required action to be taken includes updating the registered mobile number (RMN) after due verification, and enhanced monitoring of accounts linked to these revoked mobile numbers to prevent the linked accounts from being operated as Money Mules and/or being involved in cyber frauds, the circular said.�
Lenders have to ensure compliance with the instructions expeditiously, in any case, not later than March 31, 2025.�
